(CNN) – Secretary of State John Kerry scolded the Russian government during his visit Tuesday to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of "making up" reasons to invade Ukraine.

He issued a warning for Russia to essentially reel itself in, or suffer the consequences.

"If Russia does not choose to deescalate if it is not willing to work directly with the government of Ukraine as we hope they will be then our partners will have absolutely no choice but to join us to continue to expand up on steps we have taken in recent days in order to isolate Russia politically, diplomatically ... and economically," Kerry said.

CNN's Anderson Cooper is in Kiev, and said while Ukrainian protesters appreciated Kerry's visit, they are still concerned that the U.S. and the European Union have not acted fast enough to punish Putin, and isolate him diplomatically and economically.

(CNN) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to acknowledge the forces in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula are even Russian, but a commander of troops – who are wearing Russian uniforms without identifying insignia and driving vehicles bearing Russian plates – was frank. He told CNN he came from a Russian city near Crimea and had been dispatched by his commanding officer from Sevastopol to a ferry port on the eastern side of the Crimean peninsula.

Conservatives are saying President Barack Obama is partly to blame for Putin's bold moves.

"We have created a leadership vacuum in the world, and it is filled by the Putins in the world, by people without our values or our interest. And it's to the detriment of the United States and our friends and allies around the world. It is the United States that's injected that instability into the world equation,” former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsefeld told Fox News.

But Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senat Foreign Relations Committee, said the blame lies solely on Putin's shoulders.FULL POST

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